A man who was trapped in dirty floodwater for up to four hours contracted septicaemia and died after gulping down bug-ridden water, a coroner ruled yesterday.

Edward Hopkins, 66, was found clinging to a sewer pipe after a torrent tore through his home near Evesham, Worcestershire, during last summer's floods.

Eighteen days after he was pulled out of the water by a firefighter, Hopkins, a potter, died of multiple organ failure caused by septicaemia.

Gloucestershire coroner Alan Crickmore recorded a verdict of accidental death, saying that the water was clearly full of "bugs, dirt and filth".

Hopkins' wife, Veronica, told the hearing in Gloucester that when she came home at 3pm on July 20 their house was "dry and free from water". But within 45 minutes levels had risen to four or five feet in the house after a brook burst its banks.

She said: "My husband was recovering documents from the kitchen and we thought we had 10 minutes until the brook broke its banks. But the water came rushing in. I was really frightened that he was going to drown."

A neighbour called the emergency services and Hopkins managed to escape from a window. He grabbed a gutter but it broke and he plunged into the water.

Mrs Hopkins said: "I saw him spit out water when he bobbed back up. He was under the water on a number of occasions and he started to physically shake."

Hopkins was rescued and flown by helicopter to Cheltenham general hospital. He was discharged the next day. But on August 5 he was taken back to hospital, complaining of heartburn-like pain. Again he was discharged, but two days later he returned to hospital, where he died.

The coroner asked for a review of Hopkins' treatment to be carried out.